Cost-effectiveness in colorectal cancer: challenges on quality and comparability

Costs in colorectal cancer treatment are rising, especially since the availability of expensive targeted drugs. Comparisons between cost–effectiveness evaluations are restricted to differences in applied methodology, for example, differences in model assumptions and design, healthcare systems. Cost–effectiveness analyses should be performed and reported upon in a standardized manner within a disease area and in particular in oncology to facilitate better comparisons between treatments. Ideally, to evaluate the cost–effectiveness of a treatment in daily practice, models should be based on patient cohort studies or registries with appropriate prospective data collection from a societal perspective. Randomized clinical trials remain most suitable for comparison of treatment strategies and could estimate the budget impact of a novel treatment introduction.